About Us
We look forward to welcoming you to Wormsley.
We are committed to protecting the 900-year history and heritage of this treasured family estate and are excited to offer inclusive opportunities for you to experience the unspoilt uniqueness of Wormsley.
Estate History
Founded by the Scrope family in the late 16th Century and latterly passing to descendent Thomas Fane in 1720, Wormsley remained with the Fane family until selling to Sir Paul Getty in 1985. This secret jewel of tranquillity provides a peaceful place, an unspoiled setting, a haven away from the humdrum of everyday life.
The Restoration
On acquiring Wormsley in 1985, the late Sir Paul and Lady Getty embarked on restoring this magical place to its former beauty. This involved the extensive renovation of more than 30 buildings throughout the Estate including Wormsley House and The Walled Gardens.
The improvement programme brought some wonderful additions such as the Lake in the Deer Park and the world-renowned Cricket Ground (along with the establishment of the Sir Paul Getty XI) as well as the addition of the castellated Library, today housing one of the finest private collections of books and manuscripts in the country.
Present Day
Today, Wormsley is one of the favourite residences of Mark and Caterina Getty and their wider family; custodians for the next chapter in the evolution of Wormsley. Whilst Sir Paul’s love for cricket and books will always maintain a prominent place at Wormsley, Mark’s passion for Art and Opera can be clearly seen across the estate – most visible in the decision in 2011 to provide a home for Garsington Opera at Wormsley, and the building of the Opera Pavilion.
With 900 years of history behind us, Mark, Caterina and the wider family are focused on ensuring a positive future path for the estate. A part of this is their commitment and investment in a wider sustainability agenda and their desire to see a greater number of people enjoying the estate, through the extensive programme of events and activities that makes Wormsley such a vibrant home.
The Estate Today
Although primarily a private family home, this quintessentially English Estate provides the perfect canvas for a limited number of hosting days each year; allowing a small number of private individuals and organisations to hold events such as meetings, conferences, private dining experiences, festivals, corporate days (up to 5,000 guests), family days, cricket, along with country sports days, private parties and weddings.
Notwithstanding the appeal, this beautiful Estate provides a versatile location for commercial TV and film production, with its vistas, traditional Chiltern buildings, roads, gardens, and woodlands.
Since the inaugural cricket match in May 1992, Wormsley has welcomed people to enjoy the Estate by coming to host, watch and play cricket – attracting some of the world’s greatest cricketers playing both for and against the Sir Paul Getty XI.
The Arts
Since 2011 Wormsley has been the home to Garsington Opera. Created by Architect Robin Snell this wonderful 600-seat Opera Pavilion is located in Deer Park, near Home Farm, hosting a two-month-long summer opera season each year through June and July.
The Family’s long-standing support of The Arts is exemplified throughout the Estate, welcoming the artists and opera-lovers who gather each year for Garsington Opera’s performances in the Opera Pavilion, along with bibliophiles or academics who visit the world-famous Sir Paul Getty Library.
Visit the Collection
The Estate is delighted to make available certain exhibits to the public that they consider to be of an educational and cultural nature. Certain works of art will be accessible to the public on days on which library visits, garden visits, cricket events or the Garsington Opera events occur. These include sculptures by Damien Hirst, Thomas Schutte, Mel Kendrick, Barry Flanagan, and Tristano di Robilant.
Access to view these works is made available through public tours for those who are ticket holders of the above events.
Robin Snell
In 2014, Robin Snell also designed The Island Pavilion alongside Lake at Deer Park, creating a fitting home for the Getty family’s sculpture collection – also providing a perfect place for small gatherings, events and private dining experiences.
The Estate’s association with this renowned architect continued through 2016 when he was commissioned to design The Boundary Room, a hospitality and event space for 300 guests overlooking the Cricket Ground.
Our Values
Our values are our moral compass that guides the way we work together as a “family.”
Our values guide our decisions on how we interact and behave with each other, our suppliers, and the Family.
Pride
We are a team that love what we do. We take great pride in our work and in working for the Getty Family. We encourage each other to succeed and are proud of each other’s successes and achievements.
We believe in our Vision at Wormsley, and we like seeing the results of our work on the Estate.
We enjoy working together as a “family”, and like family, we are loyal to one another, the Estate and the Getty Family.
Honesty
We are open to receiving honest and constructive feedback about our work and behaviours from each other. We carefully consider our words to ensure they don’t impact others’ thoughts and emotions negatively.
We want to create a culture that allows us to be honest when we don’t know something, and we are supportive of our colleagues when they ask for our help.
Trust
We can rely on one another to do the right thing for our teams, for each other, the Estate and the Family.
We depend on one another to do what we say we will, and we do this on time. We don’t let each other down.
Kindness
We are kind and helpful towards each other and everyone we come into contact with through our work.
We put ourselves in each other’s ‘shoes’, showing empathy towards each other when needed.
Respect
We have respect for each other and for the importance of the work we do on the Estate. We are respectful of everyone we come into contact with in our day to day work.
We go out of our way to ensure that everyone is included. We should be respectful and open to considering each other’s ideas and opinions as there is huge value in our differences.
Teamwork
We are one team who work together to help each other. We can’t do our work without each other, and we don’t blame each other when things go wrong.
We work across teams to support one another and understand each other’s work and the impact of our work on other teams.